food

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

branding

burlingham woodland walks
[image: the click design consultants / identitydesigned.com]
as a person who frequents state and national parks, i really love it when branding for public spaces is done well, with reverence to the landscape. this makeover for burlingham woodland walks gives an elegant and instinctive feel to our connection to nature. see the whole package at identitydesigned.com.

infographic

beer infographic
[image: fastcodesign.com]
for a bit of fun, fastcodesign.com presents 14 surprising facts about beer in a super-cute poster-sized infographic. check their post for the full graphic.

design industry

if you’re looking for inspiration of the reading variety, fastcodesign.com profiled pentagram’s interactive site where you can click on your favorite designer and get their favorite reading suggestion.

mike montiero delivers his expert mix of humor with the straight truth in how to pick the right clients, my favorite quote from which is: Beware of clients that wait to call you until they have a perfect diagram of what they need. If they’re not coming to you for strategy and problem-solving, they’re not coming to you for design, they’re coming to you for production. And if you take on production work, you don’t get to call yourself a designer. (Yes, there’s a union. And we’re vicious.)

if you’re looking for ways to meet these clients and that same old elevator pitch doesn’t seem to be connecting with anyone, try rethinking what you’re saying with marcia hoeck’s ditch your elevator speech for parse blog.

finally, part 2 of my sustainability series for neenah paper is up on the against the grain blog: green with envy? put green ideas to action!

los angeles

some fun things floating around LA recently include this hike through the silver lake hills, a new electronics recycling center right here in echo park, and the oddly-comforting, instantly-beloved you are listening to los angeles.

food

nasturtium vinegar

some fun things going on food-wise include the fact that it’s springtime and flowers are everywhere. i’ve been foraging it up with dandelions, and finding all kinds of fun things to do with nasturtiums. before that, we celebrated the coming of spring with green garlic. get to picking and get down with your bad self!

springtime foraging

| heather parlato

hundreds of dandelions
[hundreds of dandelions]

a couple weeks ago, i spent a warm pre-spring afternoon foraging for dandelions. i just heard that my friend, emily, had set up the first LA food swap and i immediately signed up, planning out a few seasonal food projects i could share and trade with others. a recipe for dandelion jelly i found last year made me think i should try some kind of dandelion infusion, so i set out with my scissors and a cloth bag and got to collecting.

once i got home, i cut the base of each flower off, and separated the petal cluster from the surrounding leaves, and dropped each into a jar. as i worked, i noticed that dandelions have a scent that somewhat resembles banana, which made me wonder just what flavors will bloom in this process.

it’s been about 2 of the 3 suggested weeks, and the flavor has developed, though i’m not sure what it’s developed into. it has a very interesting floral flavor, which has been aided in part by the addition of some honey. another week should do it, then i’ll thin it out with some soda and find out what we’re dealing with here.

some other infusions i’m experimenting with include blood orange, which is outstanding, and has the distinct flavor of blood oranges, rather than just a general orange flavor. i’m also working with lemon verbena, which has just grown several shocks of fresh leaves. this extraction is very flavorful and should make some fantastic cocktails. finally, i’ve had lemongrass infusing for 2 weeks, and while it finally has some color, i’m not sure the flavor is anywhere near what i’d expect of lemongrass. perhaps this would be better as a simple syrup. i’ll give it another week, but i’m not sure alcoholic infusion is its best use.

my confirmed contributions to the LA food swap is a chunky, slow-cooked, mixed citrus marmalade [including navel, cara cara and blood oranges, meyer lemons and pink grapefruit], and garlic confit [slow simmered garlic cloves in canola oil for all kinds of savory uses]. if the dandelion liqueur works out, i’ll bring some bottles to trade, or make a mix of the well-matched successful infusions. and if i think of something else to make, i’ll try it out, but so far that’s all i’ve got.

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

Moving Beyond the Automobile: Biking from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

LA streetsblog started this great series, moving beyond automobiles, the first of which was about transit oriented development, and this week’s installment is about biking, above.

branding

ifc rebrand
[image: underconsideration.com]
i’m loving this new simple & quirky rebrand for the ifc channel, going from a film sprocket detail to celebrating the offbeat art that is independent film. there are all kinds of details to appreciate over at underconsideration.com.

car design

mini rocketman
[image: miniforum.com]
i’ve had my mini long enough that i no longer look at the next iterations off the assembly line with them, but when someone posted this, i found it really cute. look at those doors! i really hope they use william shatner’s version of rocket man for the ads, ha! a slew of illustrations await at miniforums.com.

packaging design

wine stash packaging
[image: thedieline.com]
this packaging for wine stash has lots of elements i love in packaging: throwbacks to retro labeling systems, a stampy logo in the lower left corner, and a simple 2-color system with a palette that sings. see more at thedieline.com.

design industry

the case for the case study talks about rethinking how you present your work to clients, so instead of bombarding them with all your best looking stuff, you target one project that’s highly relevant to them, and go more in-depth about process.

listen to mule design’s mike montiero talk about running his firm and selling design ideas on the pipeline podcast.

i’ve been working to debunk the mysteries of transitioning from full-time, in-house work to self-employment with ilise benun of creative freelancer blog and alisa bonsignore of clarifying complex ideas:
freelance 101: how to begin getting clients
freelance 102: balancing two jobs
freelancing 103: when to make the leap to f/t freelancing
and finally, a podcast on my own experience for marketing mentor: interview with heather parlato on freelancing

freelance switch offers 110 ideas to get more freelance work and generate new client leads. hot dang, there’s got to be some new possibilities in there we haven’t thought of before.

los angeles

one of my favorite new clients, mohawk bend, talks to echo park online about the new restaurant they’re bringing to the neighborhood. can’t wait to unveil more of this brand, but for now, the main logo is up. check it out!

if you’re looking for new, hidden treasures around LA, los angeles magazine offers “hidden LA” with a great run-down of places to visit.

food

spicy avocado butter
we’re in the crossover from winter to spring in the LA area, so this week’s seasonal eats talks about the various avocado cultivars you can enjoy at different times of year. last week’s spotlight was on all the great things to do with cauliflower!

in my blog travels this week, i noticed emily ho’s suggestion to grill citrus for use in a vinaigrette dressing, what a fantastic idea!

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

Erik Spiekermann – Putting Back the Face into Typeface from Gestalten on Vimeo.

infographics

infographic of culinary tools
[image: pop chart lab]
this infographic of sorted & illustrated culinary tools is a virgo, graphic designer, diy kitchen person’s dream! see the whole profile at fastcodesign.com.

packaging

lee never wasted
[image: thedieline.com]
i love this shopping bag commissioned by lee, intended to be cut down and reused as a board game, calendar, ruler, mask, door hanger, and so many more things. see the full post at the dieline.com.

design industry

inc magazine has a great article, survival tips for solopreneurs to help you stay afloat when times get tough.

also, in web design, when you feel the tug-of-war between business objectives vs. user experience pulling you into indecision, here’s how to solve it.

food

chanterelles and potatoes
i found myself the lucky recipient of a few pounds of foraged chanterelles this week, so i wrote about them in seasonal eats: when live gives you wild chanterelles.

event calendar, february 7 – 13, 2011

| heather parlato

parlato design studio valentines

getting down to the last chance to order valentines in time for me to ship them for valentines day. if you want ’em, get ’em today!

here’s what i’m up to:

tuesday, february 8, 5:30-8pm LA east side mixed up mixer FREE! this month we’re meeting at the den of hollywood with special co-host, dave waite! join biznik and join in on the fun!

sunday, february 13 27th annual wild mushroom fair FREE with admission to the LA arboretum.

other events for this week:

thursday, february 10, 7-10pm behance / aiga meetup FREE! A casual evening where members of the Behance community and AIGA LA can gather and mingle over cocktails. Not a Behance member? No problem! JoiningBehance is free.

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

design industry

tennessee state motto by matt lehman
[image: matt lehman]
i don’t have a bunch to say about design today, but what i will say is that this illustrated state motto project 50 and 50 is super cool! i can’t wait till they get to california! thanks designworklife.com for the link.

our very own AIGA LA 2010 fellow, jeri heiden, gets her own spotlight on imprint: influence and inspiration, part 2: jeri heiden.

valentines

naturally sweet stickers
[image: twig & thistle]
these have been all over the internet this week, and i think they’re brilliant: naturally sweet diy valentines! pick a fruit, pair it with a fruity pun sticker and share a naturally sweet treat with your valentine!

sustainability

it seems like a preponderance of news items involving sustainability came out this week. first of all, these services have been around for awhile, but if you didn’t jump on them before, reduce your junk mail with a selection of mail reduction services. second, if you wondered what it’s like to live as close to zero waste as possible, the zero waste home answers your questions about it. third, i’m astounded to find out that ben & jerry’s has figured out a way to run their ice cream factory on ice cream!

los angeles

greenlagirl.com offers a round-up of cool LA sites to follow.

food

kale shiitake stir fry
this week’s seasonal eats is about kale, health benefits, deliciousness and all!

creative inspiration

| heather parlato


i love these videos that animate the text being sung or spoken, but this one takes it to another level by including all the typos and having the narrator read every one of them.

sustainability

design museum young designers kit
[image: thedieline.com]
the design museum made this awesome young designers kit—but they took it further than simply inspiring young people to get into design, arming them with tools—they did it sustainably with recycled and low-impact materials. bravo! see the whole profile on the dieline.

got a minute to take the first in a multi-part series of steps in learning to go sustainable beyond ink and paper? i’m writing a piece on revisiting all the milestones in a print production process and encouraging we make more sustainable choices over on neenah’s against the grain blog. Eco-Friendly 2011: Think Forward…Then Backwards.

i’m loving this LemonAid project on good.is: a german company mixed up the perfect batch of lemon aid [to their taste, anyway], then figured out how to produce it using all fair trade resources, and then they donate a portion of their profits to fund grass-roots organizations in the countries where they source the ingredients. now that’s cooking with lemons!

one of the unexpected turnouts of the katrina disaster is that some areas are being rebuilt using much more sustainable materials, read up on utne.com: thanks katrina for greener building materials.

design industry

the first of the reviews are in from AIGA LA: Speakeasy, our fellows celebration for the 2010 AIGA fellows. check out michael dooley’s 2-part follow up interviewing john coy: influence and inspiration, part 1: john coy.

smashing magazine has a great round-up: time-saving tips and educational resources for web designers.

with all the talk of annual planning, i think it’s important to remember not to plan so hard you miss unexpected opportunities. justin ahrens shares his perspective on the parse blog: rain or shine: embrace the unplanned.

food

mixed citrus salt & pepper
i’m on a bender about using more of the food we buy, and this week i get on everyone’s case about wasting orange peels [among other things] over at LAist. because i’m a curmudgeon who thinks you should dry them and eat them. but look—this other girl at serious eats is also nutty for citrus seasoning with her deliciously italian lemon salt with fennel and chili!

and speaking of going grassroots on the food industry, what about an old-fashioned food swap!? i joined my friend emily’s LAX swappers group here in LA, you should too!

if you’re spending time in the garden and want to attract monarch butterflies [while helping restore their dwindling populations of late], re-nest shows you how to get your milkweed going to attract butterflies to your garden!

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

paper technology

paper fashion
[image: howdesign.com]
couldn’t have said it better myself, from howdesign.com: Yesterday, Macy’s flagship store unveiled seven new window displays on Broadway in Manhattan featuring stunning paper works by fashion design, fine arts, industrial design, and interior design students from Pratt Institute’s School of Art and Design between 34th and 35th streets. The display showcases sophisticated and beautiful paper looks that compliment Ralph Pucci’s Spring 2011 “GIRL 2″ mannequins as well as inventive paper sculptures and will be on view through January 26, 2011. The work is part of an exhibition titled “Pratt + Paper & Ralph Pucci” that was on view at Pucci’s Gallery Nine Showroom in December 2010.

design industry

back in june, i went to the creative freelancer conference, where we met great people, learned a ton, and put a bunch of great ideas on our to-do lists and gave them to ilise benun to mail back to us in 6 months. i just got mine in the mail last week: my creative freelancer “progress report.”

if one of your resolutions involved getting new clients, smashing magazine heard you and wrote up this early identification field guide: how to identify good clients and avoid bad ones.

there are suddenly a bunch of design contest and award deadlines rapidly approaching! print’s regional design annual submissions are due february ! how design’s promotion awards closes march 5, and their in-howse awards are due april 1, no joke. the creative review has extended their deadline to february 9, but they mean it! launching mid-february will be the brand new awards, details forthcoming.

food

kohlrabi with sausage and lemon
i wish i weren’t superlatively under so many deadlines this week, or i’d round up more fun food ideas for you. but HEY—this article on kohlrabi i wrote for LAist should more than cover you, precluding of course, that you promise to buy some kohlrabi. seasonal eats: say yes to kohlrabi!

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

los angeles

http://service.twistage.com/plugins/player.swf?p=fastcodesign_episode&v=c8163eca83931&autoplay=false
first look: LA scores a bold new museum by diller scofidio renfro, from fastcodesign.com.

i love this story from greenlagirl.com about not having access to a green barrel or composting bin, rogue composting, and making a friend who will trade compostables for backyard fruit. this is community when it works: how i started composting and got free grapefruit too.

infographics

honey bee infographic
[image: fastcodesign.com]
in my travels this week, it seems like it’s an infographic time of year. design-wise, everything cool i found was a display of information, starting with this one above who cares if honey bees are dying, which is quite extensive and can only be excerpted here. another one worth every dead end [and a few green pastures] it leads to is jessica hische’s “should i work for free” flowchart, telling the all-too-true tales of why the answer is almost always NO. and then informationisbeautiful.com shares their own round-up this week 8 great infographics which includes a stunning radiant moon phase calendar.

design industry

favorite logos
[image: creativereview.co.uk]
creative review is asking you to vote on your favorite logos. i haven’t made my picks yet, but it’s all over the design blogosphere. weigh in on your favorites!

this freelancer workout is close to my heart, as i quit the gym last year, citing lovely LA weather and abhorrence of commuting for why i wouldn’t return again unless i return to a regular work-related commute.

since you haven’t heard enough about my retreat yet, i wrote about it for the creative freelancer blog: what a difference a retreat makes, and then i updated my own retreat recap with specifics about last year’s milestones and this year’s goals.

food

winter root vegetable haystack fritters
get the story on celeriac and a recipe for veggie haystack fritters in my weekly seasonal eats for LAist. then, if you’re really into this whole seasonal thing, but you’re not in LA and aren’t sure how to do it where you live, epicurious has an interactive seasonal map of winter seasonal foods just for you! and hey, if you’re more curious about how different food systems work and can affect you [especially the yous in the colder areas who rely on a delivery system] there’s this really interesting piece: mapping food access on the ecocentric blog. and with that, i’m out!